Sapphire production for Apple reportedly underway with 100-furnace trial at Arizona facility

GT Advanced Technologies, the sapphire manufacturer with which Apple has a multi-million-dollar deal, reportedly began shipping small quantities of sapphire to one of Apple's manufacturing partners in China last month, gearing up for mass production later this year.

Analyst Stephen Chin of UBS cited his supply chain checks in revealing that GT's Arizona facility apparently started producing sapphire last month, he said in a new note to investors this week, a copy of which was provided to AppleInsider. GT's initial production level was said to be small, utilizing just 100 furnaces that are believed to be turned on and running.

The Arizona facility is expected to ramp up with installation of some 1,500 additional furnaces in the first half of 2014.

Chin estimates that GT shipped only about $1 million worth of sapphire to a China supplier last month. He believes Apple's partner in China will be receiving about $50 million in sapphire materials every month once the Arizona facility is fully operational.

The unnamed partner is believed to be utilizing the limited shipment of materials for scratch-resistant covers found on the iPhone 5s Touch ID home button and rear camera lens cover. Because shipments have been so limited, GT Advanced is said to currently represent a small portion of sapphire suppliers.

Just last week, GT confirmed that it received a third prepayment for Apple for sapphire supply, and Chin estimates that the company will receive its fourth and last prepayment for materials in May.

His checks indicate that sapphire from GT has been sold at a price 25 percent lower than the other sapphire suppliers Apple has largely been relying on. Chin has high hopes for GT Advanced's partnership with Apple, and recommends that investors buy GTAT stock, with a 12-month price target of $22.

AppleInsider was first to report in March that GT Advanced is expanding operations at its Mesa, Ariz., facility, potentially to accommodate higher yields for an as-yet-unknown component. Documents supplied to the U.S. International Trade Administration in January suggested Apple was moving to aggressively ramp production of a "critical" sapphire component by the end of February, and that the material would be shipped outside the U.S. for final assembly.

Sapphire, a crystalline form of aluminum oxide, can also be used to create an advanced virtually unscratchable alternative to silicon dioxide conventional glass. It's a potential alternative to Corning's potassium-enhanced Gorilla Glass, which Apple currently uses in its iPhone screens. Sapphire can be made thinner, and therefore lighter, but has historically also been more expensive.

Apple first began experimenting with manufactured sapphire with the iPhone 5, when it used the material as a cover for the rear-facing camera. With the latest iPhone 5s, Apple's use of sapphire has been extended to a more critical and functional role as cover glass for the Touch ID fingerprint sensor.

In order to secure sapphire supply, Apple inked a $578 million deal with GT Advanced last November. The investment was a prepayment funding the accelerated development of a "next-generation, large capacity" advanced sapphire furnace in Arizona.

Seems pointless using this plant to supply sapphire glass parts for 5s when obviously Apple has enough to meet demand from elsewhere already. GT are obviously gearing up to supply sapphire glass screens or parts for iwatch/iphone6 etc. Watch this space!!

Sapphire, a crystalline form of aluminum oxide, can also be used to create an advanced virtually unscratchable alternative to silicon dioxide conventional glass.

It is also well established as a material for building whale-sized aquariums. Known in some circles as "transparent aluminum", the synthetic sapphire debuted to the mass market in StarTrek4: The Voyage Home, and was schematized on a Macintosh. Of course. :)

It is also well established as a material for building whale-sized aquariums. Known in some circles as "transparent aluminum", the synthetic sapphire debuted to the mass market in StarTrek4: The Voyage Home, and was schematized on a Macintosh. Of course. :)

It is also well established as a material for building whale-sized aquariums. Known in some circles as "transparent aluminum", the synthetic sapphire debuted to the mass market in StarTrek4: The Voyage Home, and was schematized on a Macintosh. Of course.

Burn, baby, burn! I'm sure Corning has a some new reasons why Apple is throwing away good money using synthetic sapphire when Corning is ready with Gorilla Glass 3, with GG 4 and GG5 on the horizon. I don't know if Apple will be using sapphire for their displays but there's certainly a world need for man-made sapphire for many other uses. Apple could revolutionize the medical profession with an abundant supply of super-sharp scalpels.

OMG these jurors seem much less informed than the average person. Here are 4 questions they passed to Judge Koh:

"What did Steve Jobs say at the moment he directed, or decided to prosecute, a case against Samsung? Was Google mentioned, and/or include in that directive, or subsequent directives, to be included in any way in the case?"

"How were the five Apple patents chosen? Were they identified to Apple execs prior tot he decision to pursue patent infringement, or after?"

"How were the two patents chosen by Samsung to be purchased? Who specifically, and initially, recommended that purchase, and what was his/her title?"

"What did the CEO of Samsung say or write, at the moment he first heard about Apple Corp. [sic]" believing Samsung was infringing their intellectual property? What subsequent direction did he give to his team as to how to respond?"

OMG these jurors seem much less informed than the average person. Here are 4 questions they passed to Judge Koh:

"What did Steve Jobs say at the moment he directed, or decided to prosecute, a case against Samsung? Was Google mentioned, and/or include in that directive, or subsequent directives, to be included in any way in the case?"

"How were the five Apple patents chosen? Were they identified to Apple execs prior tot he decision to pursue patent infringement, or after?"

"How were the two patents chosen by Samsung to be purchased? Who specifically, and initially, recommended that purchase, and what was his/her title?"

"What did the CEO of Samsung say or write, at the moment he first heard about Apple Corp. [sic]" believing Samsung was infringing their intellectual property? What subsequent direction did he give to his team as to how to respond?"

OMG these jurors seem much less informed than the average person. Here are 4 questions they passed to Judge Koh:

"What did Steve Jobs say at the moment he directed, or decided to prosecute, a case against Samsung? Was Google mentioned, and/or include in that directive, or subsequent directives, to be included in any way in the case?"

"How were the five Apple patents chosen? Were they identified to Apple execs prior tot he decision to pursue patent infringement, or after?"

"How were the two patents chosen by Samsung to be purchased? Who specifically, and initially, recommended that purchase, and what was his/her title?"

"What did the CEO of Samsung say or write, at the moment he first heard about Apple Corp. [sic]" believing Samsung was infringing their intellectual property? What subsequent direction did he give to his team as to how to respond?"

OMG these jurors seem much less informed than the average person. Here are 4 questions they passed to Judge Koh:

"What did Steve Jobs say at the moment he directed, or decided to prosecute, a case against Samsung? Was Google mentioned, and/or include in that directive, or subsequent directives, to be included in any way in the case?"

"How were the five Apple patents chosen? Were they identified to Apple execs prior tot he decision to pursue patent infringement, or after?"

"How were the two patents chosen by Samsung to be purchased? Who specifically, and initially, recommended that purchase, and what was his/her title?"

"What did the CEO of Samsung say or write, at the moment he first heard about Apple Corp. [sic]" believing Samsung was infringing their intellectual property? What subsequent direction did he give to his team as to how to respond?"

Their questions actually have nothing to do with the evidence they were presented. I think they are focusing on what they understand, which is a danger in giving a highly technical case to a jury made of "norms."

Their questions actually have nothing to do with the evidence they were presented. I think they are focusing on what they understand, which is a danger in giving a highly technical case to a jury made of "norms."

I see those questions as them wanting information that wasn't well presented at the trial but t don't think that means they are not discussing the patents.

edit: typosEdited by SolipsismX - 4/30/14 at 12:45pm

This bot has been removed from circulation due to a malfunctioning morality chip.

Seems pointless using this plant to supply sapphire glass parts for 5s when obviously Apple has enough to meet demand from elsewhere already. GT are obviously gearing up to supply sapphire glass screens or parts for iwatch/iphone6 etc. Watch this space!!

A 25% price difference would cause most manufactures to run away from current suppliers. So that is reason enough. Given that though I suspect this material is iWatch destined. This method of production doesn't produce the very large crystals that would allow for a large iPhone screen. At least it hasn't in the past, it would be nice to be wrong here.

It is also well established as a material for building whale-sized aquariums. Known in some circles as "transparent aluminum", the synthetic sapphire debuted to the mass market in StarTrek4: The Voyage Home, and was schematized on a Macintosh. Of course.

What is less well known is that at the time they made this movie and plugged in this little reveal was that this technology was closely guarded military tech. It is or was a significant leak at the time. Variants of this material can produce extremely bullet resistant windows.

It seems like the amount of sapphire about to be produced is going to be much larger than what would be needed just for iWatch. I could see Apple releasing a 4" iPhone 6 with an updated design and A8, starting at $199 as we would expect, but also release a 4.7" with liquid metal and sapphire starting at $299, and possibly the 5.5" starting at $399. It sounds like a lot, but the pitch would make a lot of sense. All they have to do is show the most popular current sapphire screened phones, for example the ridiculous android Verdu that is priced at $10,000, and do what apple does best, make luxury affordable, "for less than 1/10th the price of the current leading sapphire smartphone." This would also further improve margins and allow Apple to aggressively price the 5c and 6c in developing markets. Seems like a win win scenario for Apple.

Quote:

Originally Posted by wizard69

A 25% price difference would cause most manufactures to run away from current suppliers. So that is reason enough. Given that though I suspect this material is iWatch destined. This method of production doesn't produce the very large crystals that would allow for a large iPhone screen. At least it hasn't in the past, it would be nice to be wrong here.

8" x 11" pieces of paper resting on the boules

Quote:

Originally Posted by SpamSandwich

Update on the Samsung-Apple trial...

OMG these jurors seem much less informed than the average person. Here are 4 questions they passed to Judge Koh:

"What did Steve Jobs say at the moment he directed, or decided to prosecute, a case against Samsung? Was Google mentioned, and/or include in that directive, or subsequent directives, to be included in any way in the case?"

"How were the five Apple patents chosen? Were they identified to Apple execs prior tot he decision to pursue patent infringement, or after?"

"How were the two patents chosen by Samsung to be purchased? Who specifically, and initially, recommended that purchase, and what was his/her title?"

"What did the CEO of Samsung say or write, at the moment he first heard about Apple Corp. [sic]" believing Samsung was infringing their intellectual property? What subsequent direction did he give to his team as to how to respond?"

Wow, that is pretty ridiculous. Shouldn't be a surprise, unfortunately, but it looks like the jury is preparing to make and emotional decision based on "he said, she said" arguments, instead of carefully weighing the arguments in an intellectual and objective fashion. I don't know how there could be any debating going on when samsung basically produced a manual on how to copy Apple.. it couldn't be more obvious!

Dudes! Corning has already said how unimpressed they are by sapphire. "We produce glass that's just as good or even better," Corning spokesperson Clarity VansParent said two months ago, "And it's available now!"

"What did Steve Jobs say at the moment he directed, or decided to prosecute, a case against Samsung? Was Google mentioned, and/or include in that directive, or subsequent directives, to be included in any way in the case?"

"How were the five Apple patents chosen? Were they identified to Apple execs prior tot he decision to pursue patent infringement, or after?"

"How were the two patents chosen by Samsung to be purchased? Who specifically, and initially, recommended that purchase, and what was his/her title?"

"What did the CEO of Samsung say or write, at the moment he first heard about Apple Corp. [sic]" believing Samsung was infringing their intellectual property? What subsequent direction did he give to his team as to how to respond?"

1. The lawsuit is about Samsung. Ignore everything but Samsung. Unless, of course, you want to know about Google to give Apple carte blanche to sue THEM later with a precedent.

Seems pointless using this plant to supply sapphire glass parts for 5s when obviously Apple has enough to meet demand from elsewhere already. GT are obviously gearing up to supply sapphire glass screens or parts for iwatch/iphone6 etc. Watch this space!!

Perhaps it's camera lenses.

I keep getting the feeling Apple haven't finished with the camera industry. 4K is about to become the standard in video over the next few years and Apple so far have not moved into that space. Massive sensors allow for huge digital zooms without pixel doubling but require very high quality optics.Edited by digitalclips - 5/1/14 at 6:14am

From Apple ][ - to new Mac Pro I've owned them all.Long on AAPL so biased"Google doesn't sell you anything, Google just sells you!"